The Commonwealth Foundation published an article last month entitled “Being Tough on Crime is Not Enough.”  In the piece, Commonwealth suggested a variety of ways that Pennsylvania could reform its parole, probation, and non-residential programs in order to trim its corrections budget.  Last week, Commonwealth’s reform plan began to be enacted in earnest with the passage of Senate Bill 1161.  The bill contains provisions for adopting new risk assessment instruments, addressing technical parole violations with graduated sanctions, and extending parole opportunities for non-violent offenders.  SB 1161 was sponsored by Senator Stewart Greenleaf, a Republican who represents Montgomery and Bucks Counties.